August 29, 2009
I had big plans for the day, my old friend from high school and college days contacted me and asked if I was available to take him and his boys on a climb of Tahquitz Rock. I was thrilled and said yes right away. As the time got closer, things began to change. Southern California is having a heat wave, hottest of the summer. With the heat, we started seeing major wildfires breaking out around the state, but mostly here in the southland. My regular climbing partner, Roy is getting ready to retire and playing it to the hilt. He has decided that he's getting old and cranky. Of course I don't have the nerve to tell him he's always been old and cranky, so I just kind of play along. He decided about mid week that with the size of the party and hot weather, he didn't want to go. He likes to remind me of trips we've taken where we hike back in the dark, with inadequate lighting, like Middle Cathedral Spire in Yosemite, Monument Peak near Lake Havasu and perhaps one or two others. My retort is, we made it back didn't we. To which Roy gives a sad knowing smile as he nods his head. Of course I don't know what it is he is knowingly smiling about, nor do I think I want to, best to leave it alone I figure. Anyway, I digress, by the end of the week my old school buddy decided that heat and air quality were getting too poor to be able to enjoy climbing, so they bailed as well.
Now, I treasure my opportunities to get out and enjoy nature, so I was at a loss. I started thinking about going to the beach, with about everyone else in California, I figured about with luck I might be able to park with-in a quarter of a mile of the water and then have a space of two and a half feet by six feet all to myself. Needless to say, my attitude could have been better. Then, to my surprise, my youngest daughter came up to me and asked if I could take her and her boyfriend on a little climb. I said of course and we started planning. By 10:30 pm on Friday we still hadn't completed the details and I went to bed.
At 6 am my daughter woke me and said let's get ready and go. I like her spirit. She then told me that the boyfriend bailed and it would be just the two of us. We packed up and off we went. We arrived in Idyllwild and sure enough, it was already getting warm. I decided to climb at Suicide Rock since with the shorter routes, we would be able to easily call it quits if conditions were unbearable. I was pleasantly surprised that the closest fire, the Cottonwood fire near Hemet, only about 12 miles away wasn't a factor.
Part of the approach hike
The permit process
Due to the warm temperatures, we hike slowly with plenty of rests up to the base of the rock. It was unusual not to see anyone at the Weeping Wall, but no one in their right mind would be climbing that wall in the direct sun with these temperatures.
Weeping Wall
We continued around the rock to the north and arrived at the north face area. There was a group on the Flower of High Rank and another party getting ready to climb the Guillotine. We only saw one other party all day, and they were hiking up as we were hiking down.
A climber on Flower of High Rank
I decided to climb in the shade so we positioned ourselves at the base of Little Murders, a climb that I always enjoy. My daughter Charlene hasn't climbed much, mostly friction face routes so I knew this was going to be a challenge for her. She was going to get to do some laybacking, chimney and undercling moves, in addition to cleaning traditional protection. I headed up the climb after a quick refresher on how to belay. As I climbed I was careful to make sure I placed the protection where there were good rest stances. Little Murders is a short climb, about half a pitch long so I was able to make good time, or so it seemed to me, Charlene may have another version. I set up the belay and told her to come on up.
At the base of the climb
She started climbing, a little tentatively at first but without any real problems. When she arrived at the first piece of protection, it seemed like my little impromptu cleaning lesson was all for naught. But with a couple of tips yelled down, she soon figured out how the stopper was placed and removed it from the crack. She then hesitated on the crack while I explained the layback technique and then she walked right up it. As she continued she tended to climb just past the rest stances and cleaned the pro in the middle of the moves.
At a rest stance
I wish I could do that. Each new technique seemed easier for her to master than the last and soon she was sitting on a ledge below the main feature of the climb, the undercling out and around a good size flake. She hesitated for a moment and I explained that the further she went, the easier it would get and then she launched out and did it. A great job.
In the chimney nearing the final undercling
We worked our way back along the descent ledges to the tree at the head of the crux section and I belayed her down to the base. We were quickly back at our gear and packed up.
Packing up to go
We watched some climbers next to us for a few minutes and then headed back to the Weeping Wall where we had our snacks. Since Charlene had only signed up for one climb, we made our way back down to the car and made an early return home. Thanks Charlene for a good day!
Here's a video of our trip.
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